The Promise
by ZillyVrilly
Summary: Somewhere in his heart, Hunk always thought that Lance would someday come around to reciprocate the strong feelings he had for him. This..crush he had always felt so one sided and childish to him. He was yearning and longing for someone who only sees him as a last resort. It kind of sucked. Au where Hunk and Lance promise to marry one another if they're both single by 30.
1. Chapter 1

It was only a silly little midnight promise. It shouldn't mean this much to Hunk- but it did.

Hunk shouldn't be laying in his bed at all hours of the night wondering if Lance even remembered what he promised him almost ten years ago. Ten years was a pretty long time. He doubted that he was even serious about it, anyway. Or was he? He could have been.

Ten, very long, years ago, Lance and Hunk made a promise. One they swore they would keep if all else failed.

Or, if the concept of being forever alone was actually starting to hit them.

Ten Years Prior…

"Okay, Hunk. I've got an idea." Lance sat up on his bed, a tired look in his eyes. Hunk was at the headboard, sitting up on his phone. It wasn't unusual that they'd spend all hours of the night laying on opposite ends of the bed, talking about anything that happened to come to mind. The two- Lance especially- were very "in the moment" kind of people. Hunk wasn't sure what to expect from Lance, since almost anything could come out of his mouth at this point. It was a little after midnight, which meant that the "cryptid hours," rightfully coined by Lance, was starting.

"This is either going to be really amusing or really bad.." Hunk commented, shifting in his spot as he gazed at Lance.

"No, no. I think it's a pretty damn good idea, Big Guy. So before you say anything else, I'll just tell you my idea now." He paused as a small, yet shy smile formed on his face. That was..strange. "If we're both single by the time we're..oh I dunno, thirty? Let's get married."

Hunk didn't know how to react at first. Part of him was happy that Lance would choose someone like him to marry but at the same time, he felt like a last resort. Hunk always liked Lance. Hell, he's always had a small crush on him. Hunk just never had the confidence to tell Lance about it. Plus, he valued their friendship more than anything. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he somehow lost Lance.

Wait, is he being serious, though? Why would Lance joke about something as serious as marriage? Actually, he'd totally joke about something as serious as marriage. Hunk looked down at his hands, almost forgetting to respond to him.

"I..I mean. I think it's a great idea… Probably. I don't know how good of a husband you'd be, though." Hunk joked, looking up at his best friend with a small smile. Lance rolled his eyes and laughed as he scooted closer to Hunk, holding his pinky out.

"I'd be a great husband. You'll see if we don't find other people before then. Now c'mon, pinky promise it."

Hunk looked down at his own hands, then to Lance's. He wasn't sure what he'd possibly be getting himself into, but whatever it was, he was more than okay with it.

"Okay, Lance, I promise."

Their pinkies locked together in a tight embrace, then sealed the promise by pressing their thumbs together.

It was harmless. Totally, purely, harmless.

Ten years preceding…

Work started in five hours. That meant Hunk could get at least two hours of sleep before starting his day. He always made sure to block out enough time to shower, eat, and make the full hour commute to the company building. Working as a mechanical engineer was practically his dream job. Every day, he got to plan and build whatever was thrown at him. Eventually, whatever Hunk and his team prototyped would be tested to hopefully be used by someone on this planet. The company that Hunk worked for is an affiliate with a high class physical therapy firm that specializes in high-tech prosthetics. One day, he'd design a prosthetic arm that can connect with neurons in the brain, allowing it to be fully functional. The other, he'd craft a prosthetic leg that has hyper realistic skin. Hunk was pretty damn proud of himself for landing this job, and would never replace it for anything in this world.

Hunk continued to lay in his bed, eyes blankly staring up at the ceiling. Today was Friday, which meant that he had his regularly scheduled bar meet with Lance.

Lance.

Lance McClain was..something. He's known him for over twenty years now. Hunk could tell anyone Lance's entire life story from beginning to finish without skipping over a detail, and vice versa. If anything, Hunk thought that he almost deserved to be with him at this point.

Being with Lance. Lance being his. He's wanted that for years, but could never find the heart to tell him how he really felt. Sometimes, it seemed that Lance felt the same way about Hunk… until he'd go off and flirt with every breathing organism within their vicinity. That's just how Lance was, though. Hunk had accepted that by now. There's no way to change Lance - not that he'd want to, anyway.

One and a half hours left to get some rest.

Dark eye lids slowly closed as Hunk exhaled. He can't be restless while at work. His team had to present a new prosthetic design to the physical therapy firm today; his own design, to be exact. Maybe he'd just have to down some coffee before he went in.

Sometimes Hunk wondered why he was so attached to the idea of being with Lance. There were other people in this world. Shay, for instance. She was nice, smart, beautiful… He saw her regularly, too. Hunk met her through work, and decided that he should keep in touch with her. The two got pretty close, almost too close, if Hunk was being honest. It was obvious that they showed strong interest in each other, but Hunk was too attached to the idea of Lance to even think about dating anyone.

Hunk thanked god for Shay, though. She understood why he was so afraid to commit to someone he wasn't as attached to. She supported him all the way through and promised to stay that way.

Promise.

Hunk really..didn't like that word anymore.

Later that evening…

"No, seriously, Hunk. These kids' problems are the least they should be worrying about. I mean, one girl is stressed out because her boyfriend doesn't text back right away, and this other girl is worried because her girlfriend texts back TOO fast. I don't get it." Lance worked as a high school counselor, which seemed to be easy enough. High schoolers normally need guidance trying to figure out what classes to take and what colleges to apply to, but of course, the personal problems were bound to arise. Lance never thought he'd deal with such…mundane issues, though.

"Well..I mean.." Hunk started as he took a sip of his wine that's been sitting out for far too long, "I don't see why texting back too fast is a problem. And some people..you know..actually have lives outside of their relationships."

"That's what I told both of them, Hunk! They still don't seem to get it, though. Sometimes I wish I applied to work at colleges instead of high schools.." Lance rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated laugh before sipping on the gin he had.

"Yeah, but you know you'd miss it if you really left. "

"Hey, don't give me that look, Hunk—Oh, shit, wait. I need your opinion on something." Lance began to speak as he took his phone out. Hunk raised a brow, leaning forward on the table as he listened.

"So, you know how Nyma and I have been dating for a few years now, right? I think I might…reel her in." As he spoke, he started to pull up some screenshots of engagement rings on his phone.

That's right. Lance and Nyma had been together since Lance started his job at that high school.

It's been three years, to be exact.

Hunk always managed to block out the fact that Lance has been dating multiple people on and off since they made that promise to each other. Hunk's been single the whole time.

Somewhere in his heart, Hunk always thought that Lance would someday come around to reciprocate the strong feelings he had for him. This..crush he had always felt so one sided and childish to Hunk. He was yearning and longing for someone who only sees him as a last resort.

It kind of sucked.

Hunk tried to stop his expression from dimming, but it was nearly impossible. Lance noticed things like that quickly

"…Hey, Big Guy, what's wrong? Are the rings really that ugly?"

"What? Oh, no no no, I'm just..getting sick, is all. They're both gorgeous, Lance..I think I like the second one best, though."

It hurt. All of it hurt. Hunk wanted to be selfish for once- to finally get what he wanted.

Things seemed to fall apart at every corner. Every stitch and seam was coming undone and detangling within his palms.

Hunk might be losing his chance with Lance, and he didn't want to accept it.


	2. Chapter 2

Another restless night was ahead of Hunk, he could practically smell it. After he and Lance parted ways, Hunk pulled his phone out to give Shay a call. It was about…eleven in the evening but neither of them were early to bed. He prayed that she answered.

After about five rings, Shay finally picked up, her cheery voice ringing on the other side.

"Hey, Hunk! Is something wrong? You don't normally call this late."

"Uh, no. Well, actually uh. Yeah. Yes, something's wrong. That's..the reason why I called you, duh." Hunk always verbalized his thought process. It either sounded smart or like the most ludicrous thing he's ever said.

"Okay…So what is it?" Whenever Hunk called Shay late at night like this, it was for one of two reasons: to complain (which wasn't that often), or to talk about work. It definitely wasn't the latter.

"So, I was with Lance tonight- as usual, and he brought up uh…" Hunk drew in a breath as he closed his eyes for a moment. It shouldn't be that big of a deal to him. It shouldn't be hard to talk to Shay on the phone about this. "He's going to propose to Nyma."

On the other side of the line, Shay stayed quiet as she tried to muster a correct response. Although, there isn't really a correct response for this situation.

"I… I'm sorry, Hunk. I know you really-"

"Love him. Yeah. I love him, Shay. And now I'm losing him."

"…Yeah. Do you..need me to come over? Talking about this in person may be more helpful than over the phone, you know?"

"I don't think you'd want to see a big, tall, grown man cry over something like this." Hunk let out a shaky breath as he spoke. He really should be happy for Lance.

Actually, he was happy for Lance. He just couldn't help but to be selfish.

Hunk wanted Lance for himself, and he felt awful for it.

"No, no. I'm leaving my house right now. You need to talk things out." Shay hung up, leaving Hunk by himself for a bit.

Hunk closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He hated it when Shay insisted on talking out his feelings .

Although, he can't fully admit that. He almost always left feeling a bit better than before. Shay worked wonders for him. No wonder she was so good at her job.

After about twenty minutes, there was a knock on Hunk's door. He groaned as he sluggishly walked over to answer it.

Shay was quick to let herself in, grab Hunk by the wrist, kick the door closed, and sit both of them down on the couch.

Hunk appreciated Shay for a plethora of reasons. She was sweet, caring, smart, and knew when to buckle Hunk down when things needed to be talked about.

Not to mention that she was one of the most gorgeous women Hunk has ever seen in his life. The way that her short bobbed hair hugs her round face, her hazel colored eyes glistening in the sunlight- Hell, even the beauty mark under her left eye intrigued Hunk. She was beautiful inside and out.

How could a woman like that like a man like Hunk? A tall, heavyset, anxiety filled man with a beard that may or may not be attractive anymore. He looked scruffy and unkempt; as if he barely took care of his facial hair. However, Hunk only kept his beard because Lance suggested it.

Lance.

What other things did Hunk do because of Lance? Well, there were the matching tattoos they got when they were nineteen. They were of a tiny frog, all black, right on their ankles. Hunk's was on his right, and Lance's was on his left. A frog didn't have that much significance to them, except for the fact that it literally is a reference to every meme that uses an amphibian.

Peer pressure was a bitch.

"Hunk, are you listening?" Shay asked as she reached out to touch his shoulder.

Fuck, he did it again.

"Yeah. I'm… I'm sorry." Hunk sighed, leaning back into the couch as he ran his hands down his face.

"So he's proposing, huh? Did you see it coming?"

"No. Definitely not. Absolutely not." Hunk looked at Shay with tired eyes. On second thought, he did not want to talk about this right now. This stressed him out way more than it did before.

"Okay, and how does that make you feel?" Shay paused, then made a face. "Ugh, I sound like a generic shrink. But, my question still stands."

"Like…Shit. I mean, I want him to be happy, but I don't want to sound like a douche because I'm…jealous." Hunk sunk into the couch as he looked up toward the ceiling, then back to Shay.

"Uh huh… and are you going to tell Lance how you feel?" At that, Hunk shot straight up, waving his hands in front of his chest and shaking his head.

"No, no no no. That is a no-go. That will never happen, Shay. I can't just… tell Lance that I love him when he just told me that he's proposing to Nyma!"

"Well, why not? If you don't tell him, you're probably going to live with the guilt of not telling him at all." Shay raised an eyebrow at Hunk before speaking again. "Do you think that'll make things awkward between you two?"

"Uh… yes. How is that even a question, Shay? I can't have Lance feeling awkward around me for knowing that I'm practically in love with him and have been for the past… fifteen years. And then what if Nyma doesn't want me around him because she thinks I'll do something? Other than Pidge, Lance is literally all I've got." Hunk stared at Shay for a moment. When did he start breathing heavily? Who knew, because he sure didn't."I really can't risk that, Shay. I know you mean well when you tell me to talk things out with him, but I know Lance. He'll either play it off or get really awkward about it and tease me for it. He's got a big mouth, too. So there's no doubt that Nyma would know within a few hours of me talking to him."

"…Okay, here's an idea. Get rid of Nyma." Shay laughed quietly as she tried to quickly lighten the mood. Hunk blinked at her for a second.

"Get rid of Nyma? Murder is illegal, Shay."

"That's a shame." Shay continued to laugh as she stood up. "I've got to go, though. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I have an early start tomorrow."

Hunk stood next, keeping his eyes on Shay for a moment.

"Thank you for coming over anyway. And… I'm sorry for rambling earlier. That happens." He laughed nervously as he gave Shay a small smile.

"I know. It's what makes you, you." Shay reached out, placing a gentle hand on Hunk's shoulder before squeezing it. "Get some rest, tonight. You look like you need it."

"Yeah. Goodnight, Shay." Hunk lead Shay to the door as they exchanged goodbyes, then watched as she drove off.

"I doubt I'll get any rest."

And he didn't. Hunk stayed up for the rest of the night, wondering what he was going to do with himself.

The next day…

Somehow, Hunk was coherent enough to be around Lance, despite the fact that he hadn't slept the night before. Lance called him at around noon, asking if he could stop by to discuss the proposal. Part of him wanted to say no, to say that he wanted no part in helping him. But how could Hunk refuse helping his best friend? How could he not help him at all?

Maybe Hunk was too soft.

"Okay, so I have no idea how to propose to her. I just know that I wanna do it soon." Lance said, sitting back on one of Hunk's dining room chairs. Hunk was only a few feet away, cooking lunch for the two of them.

"Just take her out to dinner and propose to her in the restaurant." Hunk said as he looked over his shoulder. "That's simple enough."

Lance waved his hand, dismissing that option.

"Nah. Too public."

"… Lance, you love being the center of attention."

"… Right."

Hunk turned back to making two BLT sandwiches. Each of them liked theirs a certain way, and Hunk was sure to remember that. Lance had two tomatoes and lettuce at the top and the bottom. Hunk only liked one tomato, but a lot of bacon. At this point, Hunk could make a cookbook dedicated to the way the two of them liked their food.

After getting one sandwich done, he placed it on a plate and got to work on the second. Thinking about how Lance could propose to Nyma physically hurt him. He didn't want to think about it at all, but he might as well give him ideas anyway.

"How about you spell out 'Will You Marry Me?' in chocolates on a bed with the room decorated and fancy music in the background?"

That totally wasn't exactly how he wanted Lance to propose to him someday. Not at all.

… It definitely was.

"That's pretty specific, Big Guy… But I actually like that. I think that's the one." Lance smiled, sitting up this time. Hunk didn't expect Lance to actually want to go with that idea, and somehow, it stung even more. At that realization, Hunk gripped onto the spatula between his fingers. He was glad that Lance couldn't see him right now, or else he'd notice that there were tears welling up in his eyes.

He was god awful for wanting Lance even after knowing that he was about to be engaged.

"I'm glad you like it. Really glad. Y'know, I'm happy for you, Lance. I'm glad you found someone."

Wrong. He wasn't glad. He was jealous, enraged, and empty, but there was no way he could let Lance know that.

"Thanks, Hunk! Hey, I was thinking. Why aren't you and Shay a thing? I thought you two liked each other?"

That was a jab to the chest.

"I mean, yeah, I guess we do. I don't know, I think we'd just work better as friends. Plus, we work together. That's unprofessional, isn't it?" Well, Hunk wasn't totally wrong.

"Sure, but Nyma and I work together and we're totally fine. You should ask her out on a date sometime! We're each other's wingman, remember? I help you, you help me." Lance smiled as Hunk brought over both of their plates, then sat down.

"Eh, I don't think so. Thanks, though."

The rest of that afternoon only grew more and more painful. Lance had dragged Hunk to the jewelers to pick up the ring after they finished lunch.

The urge to gouge his eyes out only grew stronger and stronger from then on.


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks had gone by, leaving Hunk to wallow in a pit of misery whenever he wasn't working.

As for Lance, he was proposing to Nyma tonight.

Hunk couldn't believe that Lance was proposing to Nyma. Aside from being jealous, Hunk had a 'strong disliking' towards her. He never truly hated anyone, nor could he bring himself to use that word about a person.

Morals aside, Nyma always rubbed Hunk the wrong way. The way she held herself as a person, the way she acted toward Lance, and her overall presence made Hunk uncomfortable. She demanded attention from him and him alone, always got what she wanted—it made him sick.

Hunk swore she was a gold digger at first.

Hell, he still thinks that's the case.

Hunk could remember the pang that struck his chest when Lance introduced him to Nyma. He also remembered the sour expression that would appear on Nyma's face whenever he was around them. It's almost as if she viewed Hunk as competition—Hunk didn't know why, though. She was a beautiful broad that had no reason to be jealous of anyone.

The way her long, dirty blonde hair brought out her sun kissed skin, the way it fell to her mid back, the way it brought out the sharp features on her face—it was awful. Nobody should be that gorgeous.

And for some reason, one that he could not explain, the freckles that dusted her cheeks and danced across the bridge of her nose gave her just the smallest amount of innocence. To Hunk, freckles were a sign of purity. Anyone he's met that had been blessed with freckles didn't have a mean bone in their body.

Nyma quickly broke that streak.

Another thing Hunk didn't understand about Nyma was the fact that she was a teacher. How could someone like her be responsible for teaching the youth of America? How?

Before Hunk could think about anything else, he was brought back to reality by the subtle ringing of his phone. Why was it so quiet?

Oh, right. He left it in his bedroom so he wouldn't have the urge to text Lance while he was having dinner with Nyma. That was about an hour or two ago.

With a huff, Hunk lifted himself from his couch to retrieve the device. It couldn't have been anyone important, but there was no harm in checking.

As Hunk picked up his phone, his brows furrowed. Lance was calling him.

This was probably his victory call.

"Hey, Lance."

Hunk mentally prepared himself for Lance's phone call, for the long rambles about his and Nyma's future together, and the constant yelling that would have been on the other line for weeks. He was starting to accept that Lance would never be his, that he would never have the chance to tell him how he feels.

"Hunk, she said no."

Even after agonizing over the many things wrong with Lance and Nyma's relationship, not once did Hunk think that she'd turn him down.

As bad as it sounded, Hunk was happy. He was happy in a crappy, selfish kind of way. His feelings didn't matter right now, though (it's not like they ever do). Lance needed someone right now.

"Buddy? You there?" Lance asked, his voice shaky.

"Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. What happened?" Hunk sat down on the edge of the bed, then pressed his back to the sheets. This was going to be a long talk.

"Nyma's been cheating on me this entire time," he began, "she deliberately planned to be with me until I asked her to marry me. She's been using me for three years, Hunk!" As Lance continued, his anger and frustration became apparent." She tried to make it better by saying that she genuinely liked me at first, but I just never satisfied her enough. She found some other guy about a year in, but never let me go because I always bought her gifts. She fucking used me, Hunk."

Hunk stayed quiet as he waited for Lance to calm down. He could hear his heavy breathing every now and then. He knew that Lance needed to take his time when he was angry. He would go on small tangents, stay quiet, then start up again.

"Why would she wait this long to break things off with me? She waited until I wasted my money on a ring and restaurant reservations… Hunk, she literally used me! She completely fucked me—and not in the way I like, either."

"Lance—"

"I know, I know, I shouldn't joke right now. I just need to cope." As Lance huffed on the other end, Hunk swore he could almost feel the fumes coming through the receiver.

"Do you want me to come over so we can talk about it more?" Hunk asked, now sitting up.

"Por favor."

"Got it. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Hunk was there in, quite literally, a few minutes. Living close to each other had its perks, tonight's situation being an example. Hunk raised his fist to knock on the door, but was stopped when it opened. The taller man was greeted by his best friend, eyes red, hair disheveled.

He couldn't take it already.

Lance looked up at Hunk, a tired look in his eyes. He stepped out of the way to let Hunk in, then leaned against the door after closing it.

"Mierda…" Lance started, running his hands through his hair, "thanks for coming over, Hunk. Don't know what I'd do without you, buddy." As he finished speaking, Lance's voice cracked. Hunk could tell that he was more than broken up about it. He felt even worse for being happy about the breakup.

"It's no problem, seriously. You know I'm always here for you." Hunk took in a breath, keeping his gaze on Lance. To his knowledge, Lance has never been in a situation like this before, otherwise his reaction would be different.

Totally different.

After getting Lance to sit down, the two stayed quiet for a moment. It wasn't that Hunk didn't know what to say—actually, that's exactly what it was. There was no right thing to say at all.

"So, um. Nyma just… told you? That she was cheating and all." Hunk asked, hoping that he'd get Lance to talk a little.

"Yeah. She just…" He began, sinking into the couch as he spoke, "the moment I pulled the ring out, she gave me this look. She looked pretty upset, so I knew it wasn't that kind of soft look you get before happy crying, you know? Anyway, she stopped me and just told me everything."

Hunk squinted for a moment, then raised a brow. "What do you mean by everything?"

"I mean… from start to finish, what she did while we dated. So, long story short, I was being played like a violin. A really good violin, too. She even told me who she cheated on me with. Don't know what good that'll do for either one of us, but I know, now." Lance huffed, turning his gaze over to Hunk.

As Lance explained himself, Hunk tried to contain the anger that boiled inside of him. He wasn't a fighter at all, but for Lance, he'd do almost anything. Emphasis on almost.

"I'm sorry, Lance…"

"I loved her, man. I don't—"

"I know, Lance." It took a lot for Hunk to refuse a reaction.

"No, I really, really loved her, Hunk."

"I know, Lance. I know." It was hard for that tone of voice to not sound like irritation, but it was.

"Three whole years, down the drain. It's like I wasted an entire part of my life on her." After that, the two of them fell silent for a few minutes, giving each other quick glances here and there. Hunk finally found the courage to speak up, though.

"I never liked Nyma, anyway."

"Huh?" Lance had given Hunk his full attention at this point as he shifted his whole body to face him. "I thought you liked her?"

"No, no I didn't, Lance." Hunk thought that if he was going to have his 'I told you so' moment, it might as well have been now. "She was rude to both of us. She hated being around me because I took your attention away from her. It was pretty obvious. I mean, I never would have said this when you two were together but now I feel like it's okay to say. Kind of. Anyway, I meant what I said."

Hunk is far too nice for his own good. Even that was a stretch for him and both of them knew it.

"So, you're telling me that I was more oblivious than normal?" Well, Lance wasn't wrong.

"I hate to admit it, but yeah." Hunk sighed, twisting his lips a bit as he looked at Lance. He gave Hunk a defeated look before pulling his phone out.

"Cosmic Pizza or that Mediterranean place?"

"It's one of those nights again?"

"Yeah."

"Cosmic Pizza. I'll grab the wine."


End file.
